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Operation Earthshatter
One of the most critical battles of the Triot Campaign, Operation Earthshatter was a defensive battle strategised to bleed Triot's greenskins of as much fighting strength - particularly amongst their leader castes. By first establishing a beachhead in major Ork territory, the Imperial force lured millions of battle-hungry greenskins into a pitched battle where an enormous numbber were killed by overhwleming defensive firepower and orbital bombardments from Aspera Dominus. The Operation was a success, killing millions of greenskins as well as a large amount of the planet's warbosses and nobs. This threw the remaining orknoid forces into leaderless disarray. Background By this time the Triot Campaign was in full swing, with Orknoid counterattacks crused and the Imperial lines pushing further south with each passing day. Nevertheless reclaiming Triot would still be a grinding war of attrition that could take many months - even years - and claim hundreds of thousands if not millions of human lives. To avoid such a gruelling war, the Chapter Master of the Ghosts of Retribution conceived a plan to annihilate the core greenskin forces on the southern subcontinent of Surim with a pre-emptive assault. Marshalling the full forces the Ghosts of Retribution had on Triot, in addition to the Krieg 128th that was under control of the Chapter, the Imperial Force prepared for a climactic battle. Description 'Fortifying the Imperial Position' On the northern edge of South Surim lies the Alterin Peninsula, a large expase of rocky terrain bordered by high cliffs & ocean on three sides. As an infertile area - unsuitable for spore growth - the greenskins living in the region were few in number and scattered, and when the Imperial force arrived arrived in a mixture of Thunderhawks and dropshops they swiftly massacred the peninsula's inhabitants. Knowing that word would soon spread, the Imperial force dug in with all the trenching expertise the Krieg 128th could muster. While the Weirdboy Tard Powa'ead called upon every Ork warboss and nob in Southern Surim to join the attack on the Astartes and put an end to the space marines that had thwarted their previous counterattacks. Anticipating the tremendous fight that the Astartes had gained a reputation for, countless greenskins eagerly made their way for the Alterin peninsula with all haste. The Imperials crafted their position carefully, with Krieg soldiers forming the primary gunline supported by Astartes ready to respond to any concentrated assault. Meanwhile the Krieg Artillery units dedployed further behind the frontliens, nearer the northern shore, and trained their guns meticulously. 'Orknoid Assault' The first probing Ork attacks - frontrunners too eager to wait for reinforcements - were annihilated by Thunderhawk strikes, but soon a critical mass of Orks had built up and launched an all-out offensive on the Imperial position with millions of greenskins and tens of thousands of war machines. A number great enough to sweep the Imperial force from existence in a matter of minutes. The over-eager Orks however were sorely unaware of the Aspera Dominus' precise bombardment cannon capabilities, the Ork commanders foolishly assuming that rough proximity to the Imperial position would shield them. Colossal magma shells smashed into the greenskin horde with lethal accuracy, vaporising hundreds of thousands with each salvo. As the green tide streamed into Alterin, only the very vanguard of the charge escaped the bombardment and were now left with nowhere to go but the Imperial positions ahead. However while only a fraction of the marshalled force, this vanguard still horrendously outnumbered the Imperial force. The greenskins fell upon the Imperials like a wave breaking against rock. Krieg Lasguns snapped in a cacophany of fire and scythed down common orks while marine bolters targeted nobs and other elites. Cannons roared as Ork stompas & battlewagons exchanged fire with Imperial tanks - including the Fortress of Vengeance which alone accounted for three Stompas and hundreds of lesser ork vehicles. Inevitably the weight of numbers took its toll. Krieg units willingly bore the brunt of the Ork assault, freeing Astartes to redeploy and counterstrike Ork breakthroughs. Colonel Von Strahl - commander of the 128th - was killed when assault an ork nob squad poised to kill Captain Macedon of the Ghosts of Retribution. Krieg Leman Russ tanks were destroyed one-by-one by stompa fire, battlewagon kannons, and swarms of greenskin tankbustas. Even the Krieg Artillery units took casualties as crafty Kommando units outflanked the front lines and attacked the artillery crews. However the most severe casualties were amongst the Krieg frontline infantry. In the very thickest of the fighting Captain Brethorius and his mighty thunder hammer roared, crushing dozens of Nobs and several warbosses as well as smashing apart a number of ork killa kans and deff dreads. The First Captain was finally laid low when an entire squadron of killa kans tore off his shield arm, allowing a gang of nobs to pull the Captain down where a particularly large greenskin bit a good portion of the Captain's jaw off. Fortunately a furious counter-attack led by Vanguard Sergeant Ation saved Brethorius from death, and the wounded Captain was taken behind the lines to safety. 'Psykers' Showdown' The meatgrinding battle saw its height when the Weirdboy Tard Powa'ead - leader of the ork forces - joined battle, hurling colossal bolts of crackling lightning and storms of blistering ice, in-between hurling tanks aside with telekinesis and pulping flesh with a thought. Chief Librarian Trianon and his sudents - the twin Lexicanums Laxenos & Vortigan - confronted the weirdboy to put a stop to his psychic rampage. A tremendous psychic battle ensued between the powerful warriors, great arcs of energy and lightning that turned ork & marine alike to ash erupting from their forms as blasts of electricity and flame fired from both sides. The duel finally reached its climax when Trianon chose to take the brunt of Tard's psychic attacks himself, suffering severe wounds from the incredibly powerful weirdboy but providing an opening for Vortigan & Laxenos to decapitate the ork in close combat. Now bereft of all leadership the Orks routed and fled, only to be cut down piecemeal by Thunderhawk strikes and orbital bombardments, as the Imperial lines recovered their wounded. Aftermath Operation Earthshatter succeeded in killing almost every single warboss & nob left on the continent of Surim, leaving the remaining orks in absolute chaos & disarray and easily destroyed by the Imperial Guard with tremendous speed. Surim was claimed for the Imperium in a matter of weeks following Operation Eartshatter, and the human remnants on Triot - holed up in the Surimnius Mountain Range - were finally freed from their encirclement. Whilst the eastern continent of Kalbirum was still in ork hands, the Imperial forces had re-established human control and Triot returned to Imperium for the first time in 212 years. Losses amongst the Imperial force were heavy. The Krieg 128th tallied 11,353 dead out of an original strength of 20,500 - with their commanding officer Colonel Von Strahl amongst the dead. The Ghosts of Retribution suffered 34 brothers killed in action. However whilst Captain Brethorius and Chief Libratian Trianon had been badly wounded, they eventually made full recoveries. Category:Chapter Operations Category:Ground Battles